Chapter 14
I wake up with a start.
My breath is heavy and I'm covered in sweat…
…I also can't move.
I look to my left and to my right using my eyes and see that my arms and legs are held in shackles, but more than that I can't even move my fingers…
Where the hell am I anyway?
I remember fighting on the battlefield with my Kiba swords and then…
…nothing, there's a big gap there somewhere…
My surroundings are dark and the air feels damp and warm.
I try to circulate my chakra…but I can't find it…
I feel my blood run cold. What the hell is happening?
"You're awake"
A deep voice sounds from the darkness
A figure in an orange swirled mask wearing a black cloak covered in red clouds steps forward from the darkness. One eye shines through the singular hole on the mask, showing a blood red eye with a peculiar iris.
"Let's not delay any longer then, Yagura lie down over there"
A boy with pink eyes steps forward, he looks almost identical to me aside from his hair colour which looks more of a dark gray compared to my brownish red hair.
…This was my father, Yagura Karatchi, the Mizukage…
I try to hold down my rising emotions as I look back at the masked man.
Who is he? Could he be the one with the unique Kekkai Genkai that cast a super genjutsu on my father?
My father…he…certainly doesn't seem to be very lifelike. His pink eyes look glossy and his movements are stiff…
My father lies down next to me on the stone platform and faces upwards lifelessly.
"...Just what…did you do to him?"
I finally manage to say as a woman steps forward from the darkness holding a syringe.
She was wearing the same cloak, but her face was actually showing. She had blue hair wrapped in a bun with some sort of flower hair ornament.
The man in the orange mask chuckles.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling you, especially since your mother has already figured out most of it. He's under my genjutsu"
The blue haired woman stepped forward with the syringe and injected my father with it.
"What are you doing!"
I suddenly raise my voice, surprising even myself.
"Calm down Saizo"
I don't know why, but a shiver went up my spine when the masked man said my name.
"We injected you with the same chemical. Orochimaru may have betrayed us, but the things he left behind still have their uses. This chemical paralyzes the chakra network and the body"
I can feel my heartbeat quicken as I try to process any information available. How can I get out of this?
"Why?"
I ask. I'm not sure what happens next, but buying some time might help…
"Because it's important that you're not only awake for the…procedure, but that you and your father don't put up any resistance"
The orange masked man responds, offering no useful information.
"Pein are we ready?" The man suddenly asks into the darkness.
"We are" An equally deep voice responds as a man steps forward.
The man called Pein was wearing the same cloak as the other two, he has bright orange hair and a line of metal piercings up his nose. His eyes had a strange swirling pattern…
…And at that point I realized…I wasn't going to get out of this. I don't know who these people are, but they've apparently been secretly leading the entire village of Kirigakure for the last eight years. On top of that, there's a strange feeling of panic that I get in their presence, something deep down inside just telling me to run… Like how a rabbit must feel when it sees a wolf…
"I'll undo the genjutsu. Make it quick, Yagura may be sedated but the Three Tails may try to escape"
Pein nods and moves forward towards me…
…I take it back…
…It feels more like I'm an ant in front of an elephant…
A loud gasp cries out from next to me as life comes back into my father's eyes.
"Wha?! You! Where are we?! What have you done?!"
He was all but physically thrashing around as his rage swept over the room.
"Yagura, I'd like to introduce you to your son Saizo" The orange masked man says almost fondly and gestures towards me"
Meanwhile, Pein had already begun to draw with ink on my stomach. I couldn't tell what he was doing, obviously some kind of fuinjusu…but that stuff was always beyond me.
My father looks towards me; anger, doubt and fear all showing on his face.
"Saizo hasn't been born yet…" He says much quieter than he did when he awoke.
"Hey Dad" I reply with a smile that was completely forced.
"What did you do" He turns back to the orange masked man with a killing intent that even I was slightly taken aback by.
"It's been eight years since our little fight just outside of Kirigakure" He replies with a hint of glee in his voice.
My father's face becomes ashen as he turns back to me with a searching look, asking me to deny it.
"He's had you under a genjutsu" I supply. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now.
…
"…You have your mother's hair…" He finally says before suddenly turning a shade paler.
"Mei…Your mother…is she?"
"She's fine!" I quickly respond.
…
"Though…she is leading a rebellion against your Kirigakure…"
"My Kirigakure?" He picks up from my words.
"…genjutsu…" I reply without going into the specifics.
Though it turns out someone else was delighted to go into specifics.
"Well, I couldn't have the Mizukage quit his duties all of a sudden" The orange masked man chuckles darkly.
"I've been having you and your village slaughter your own people…It was surprisingly easy, they really didn't seem to like the Kekkai Genkai users much already"
I flinch as a dark chakra suddenly rises up from my father. I feel the ink lines on my stomach increase in speed.
"I'm going to kill you"
I believed him. As it turned out, my father was scarier than my mother. As hard as that was to believe…I guess that's why he was the Mizukage.
"Yes, well my grudge with kirigakure has been…somewhat placated" the orange masked man says completely unconcerned with the threat.
"I now know that it wasn't the fault of Kirigakure…no…it was the fault of the entire shinobi world...and soon the whole world will know" His tone of voice taking on a darker note.
"Finished" Pein suddenly says from my stomach region as he retreats back next to the orange masked man.
"No" My father barely voice out as he spies the ink patterns on my stomach.
"I won't let you!" He yells as the dark chakra suddenly envelops everything around me.
"You don't have a choice" Pein says as the mass of chakra suddenly gets sucked into my gut.
It felt…warm at first, maybe even pleasant, but more chakra just kept pouring in.
"We don't yet have the means to absorb the three tails…" The voice of the orange masked man voices out snidely.
Then it started to burn, it felt like I had swallowed a small match.
"…On top of that the rebellion finally noticed that you were under a genjutsu…"
Then the entire inside of my body was on fire.
"…If they were to break it…you're too powerful to be allowed to roam around with something we need inside of you, it would be a threat to our plans"
It felt like I was going to melt from the inside out.
"At first we were just going to kill you and then capture then three tails again once it revived…but then I discovered your son…"
As if there was a being inside of me stabbing through my insides in order to escape.
"He's weak, but strong enough to handle being a jinchuriki without dying and he's a perfect match as the blood relative of a previous host. He's someone we can simply take the three tails from in the future as we need it. Much easier than having to find and capture it by itself…"
"NO!" I hear my father yell as my thoughts begin to merge into something less sophisticated.
It was pain, I could only think of pain.
After an Unknown Amount of Time
I awoke suddenly, sitting straight up and jumping to my feet.
I was somewhere else.
I jumped through the nearby window and began to run.
Ask questions later. I need to escape.
Escape. Escape. Escape.
I can't let them get me again. Never again.
"Saizo" I hear a deep voice from behind me.
No, no, no, I won't let you take me!
I use the most powerful and indiscriminate jutsu I know, the boil release: corrosive mist.
I launch through the hand signs and breath out a plume of corrosive mist in front of me. As the user I'm immune and it should be able to stop them from chasing me.
"Saizo!" A woman's voice now and it's close!
I whip around while using the hand signs for my lava release: melting apparition.
A plume of lava bursts out at my attackers and I turn to run once more.
…Where I see Zabuza Sensei standing there with his sword drawn.
"Zabuza Sensei!" I yell happily.
He breathes a sigh and continues to stare me down with his sword drawn.
"Do you know where you are Saizo?"
"No, but we need to get out of here Sensei! They were chasing me and…"
He cuts me off.
"Who was chasing you?"
I turn and point as I see my mother standing there looking deadly serious.
"They were…"
What's going on?
At this point I examine the greater surrounding area and notice we're in a city of some kind…
People have stepped outside of their houses and they're looking at me with horror and fear in their eyes.
"Saizo…you're safe now…we're in Kirigakure…" My mother is panting and looks far more tired and in poor shape than I've ever seen her.
My mouth drops open and I pale as I think about what it was I was just doing.
…What's going on…